


The Ultimate Test

by afteriwake



Series: Stuff Of Improbable Legends [43]
Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV), Eureka, Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Affectionate Skye | Daisy Johnson, Bars and Pubs, Conversations, Dimension Travel, Fake/Pretend Relationship, Fooling A Friend, Gen, Male-Female Friendship, POV Zane, Parent Phil Coulson, Protective Phil Coulson, Protective Zane, Romantic Friendship, Skye | Daisy Johnson & Phil Coulson Friendship, Talking, Teasing, Wine
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-04
Updated: 2016-06-04
Packaged: 2018-07-12 06:30:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,012
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7089046
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/afteriwake/pseuds/afteriwake
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Zane and Daisy try and fool Coulson that they're actually dating at Salvatore's. It doesn't go <i>quite</i> as planned, but it doesn't end with Zane being told to stay out of Daisy's life, either.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Ultimate Test

**Author's Note:**

  * For [sideofrawr](https://archiveofourown.org/users/sideofrawr/gifts).



> So _ages_ ago I was supposed to write this as a log for **sideofrawr** and other stuff just kept popping up instead, and while I was in the hospital I managed to get inspired and get it done. The first sentence comes from [this list of sentence starters](http://penaltywaltz.tumblr.com/post/141398180833/writing-prompts).

His stomach flipped when he walked into the room. He hadn’t expected there to be _quite_ so many people at the bar that evening. It wasn’t that it wasn’t a busy place, it was just that it normally wasn’t _this_ busy. He didn’t know why, but he got the feeling in the pit of his stomach that this was just one surprise that didn’t bode well.

Even in the sea of people, though, he managed to spot Daisy straightaway. He’d been finding his eyes were naturally drawn to her in a crowd, and tonight it seemed that at least half a dozen other guys were as well. It didn’t hurt that she looked like an absolute knockout tonight, either. Of course, most of the guys were also totally unsure whether they should even _make_ a move or not because of the guy sitting next to her in the black suit with the crisp white shirt on. He had the feeling if Coulson could have found a reason to wear shades indoors he probably would have. He really did know how to look stern and taciturn if the situation called for it without them, though.

Daisy spotted him and gave him a wave, and he waved back before threading his way through the crowd over to them. When he got to the table he leaned over and gave her a kiss on the cheek. It wasn’t totally out of character for them; they were rather affectionate with each other, being cuddly and snuggly all the time, and _she_ kissed _him_ on the cheek all the time. It just didn’t seem right to kiss her on the lips, so turnabout was fair play. “Hey, sweetie,” he said, using one of his actual nicknames for her.

“Hey,” she said, giving him a wide grin as he sat down between her and Coulson at the round table. “This is my S.H.I.E.L.D. dad, Phil Coulson. Coulson, this is my boyfriend, Zane Donovan.”

Zane reached out his hand to Coulson. “Honor to meet you, sir,” he said.

“Likewise,” Coulson said, shaking his hand firmly. “Sk-- Daisy talks about you a lot.”

Zane flashed her a grin. “She talks about you a lot too, sir. In mostly glowing terms.”

“Zane,” Daisy said as she shook her head, smacking his shoulder.

Coulson grinned slightly at that. “Honesty. Good trait to have,” he said with a nod.

Zane refused to look guilty at the comment, simply nodded. “Yeah, I suppose.” He looked around, saw Alicia and waved, getting a wave in return. “Daisy is a really special person to know, I’ve found.”

“Yeah. I look at her like a daughter,” Coulson said, a hint of fondness in his voice, causing Daisy to smile. “I like to try and make sure she doesn’t get hurt when I can.”

“I won’t hurt her,” Zane said, a surprising strength in his voice.

Coulson looked him up and down, nodding. “I get the feeling you’d be like me, doing whatever it took to keep her safe.” He looked over at Daisy. “Why don’t you get us something to drink? See if the lovely owner has any Mount Eden Vineyards Estate Chardonnay for us to split. Maybe circa 2005?”

“Wine snob,” Daisy teased with a grin.

“Pepper always said it was a mystery why it wasn’t a better-known label. If she doesn’t have that, maybe Andrew Will Sorella? More expensive, but still good.”

Her gaze softened at the mention of Coulson’s old life. “I’ll go see,” she said, getting up. “If she doesn’t have either, though?”

“If she doesn’t have either, see if Alicia's got something similar to those and we’ll take that,” Zane said. “And I’ll cover it. I sold an invention today so I’ve got the money to cover something expensive.”

Daisy nodded. “Got it.” She moved away from the table to head to the bar.

Once she was away from the table Coulson turned to look at Zane. “You two aren’t _really_ dating, are you,” he said.

Zane gave him a half smile. “She thought she could totally fool you.”

“Have to admit, you almost did,” Coulson said. “I mean you...you love her, don’t you? Or you at least care about her a hell of a lot.” Zane looked down at the table, not sure how to answer. “Fair enough. If it makes you feel better, she does care about you. A lot. I don’t know if it’s love or not, but you’re important to her. If she is falling for you, though, she’s going to be in deep denial. I was briefed on everything that happened at home after I got pulled away and what happened in Lawrence and--” Zane’s jaw clenched at the mention of Lawrence and Coulson stopped. “You were around.”

“For some of it. I was pulled back and forth like a yo-yo while I was there. I worked for Stark Industries for a bit the first time I was there, around Ward and Daisy, but I didn’t interact with them much. I didn’t like Ward much, though. Didn’t like him, didn’t trust him. And their relationship was...I don’t know. Just seemed a little off.”

Coulson nodded, keeping an eye out for Daisy. “Well, if it makes you feel better, I like you. If you want to keep up this charade of a fake date tonight I’ll play along. I think you’re a good influence on her and I want you to stick around, so...”

“Let’s just play out tonight however it goes,” Zane said, feeling himself relax as he lifted his head back up. They may not have fooled her former boss, but at least the guy liked him. That was something. Coulson didn’t want him out of Daisy’s life, and as long as it stayed that way he was fairly sure the two of them could get along quite well. Now he just had to figure out a way to gently break it to Daisy that they hadn’t fooled Coulson and then he figured things could move forward from there.


End file.
